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Cleaning the Toilets

There are always the unpleasant jobs. The jobs that don’t bring you any accolades. The ones that are not seen. The unpleasant jobs that have no reward. Who does those jobs?

Few will do those jobs. I have been doing the tough jobs since my father taught me what work is really all about. The hard and hot and nasty jobs. I learned that hard work will not kill you. I often do the jobs that nobody even notices. Why do I do it?

Because it needs to be done. Because nobody else will. And if I don’t do them, then it will only get worse. The dirt, repair, stain, pile, problem…will only get bigger. And when I finish- nobody will notice much. They won’t know how hard you worked to get it done. They won’t know what it took to complete the task. But I will notice. And I know that I have headed off a major project by noticing the need and taking care of it. Yet…

I will not get any response.

No atta boys.

I will not get an ego boost from others.

Nobody will tell me that I am sweet, caring, or thoughtful.

Nobody will even notice that the work has been done- except me.

We just don’t have many folks that will clean the toilets anymore. Everything has to have a reward. Everything has to result in the your world telling you that you are amazing. A hero. That your incredible. That you have a big heart. That your just so special.

What will we do when the toilet cleaners are gone? I can tell you. Things will get dirty. And things will not get done. And the others will wonder what happened. They will talk about the problem. They will complain about the situation. They will tell their friends. They will try to talk it to death.

But it won’t get done without a toilet cleaner. I hope that there will be some around. The folks that “do” instead of “talk”. The folks that aren’t afraid to do a task without an ego lifting pat on the back. The unnoticed. The toilet cleaners.

Have you really examined your motivations? Are you really only feeding your ego in your work, service and actions? Do you complete work simply because it needs to be done? Or is everything motivated by getting something back? Let me know if you “get this” by clicking on “Like”. Or click “Leave a Comment”and tell me what you think!

What is Leading By Serving?

We are all leaders. We lead families, friends, workmates, and we lead by example. Leadership is not about position. A leader seizes the opportunity to make a difference. They lead from where they are. In this space, I share stories and life lessons on grabbing hold of these opportunities. Making an impact. Changing the world.